


A Kiss for the Life You Changed

by ShiNatoka_Nah



Category: No. 6 (Anime & Manga), No. 6 - All Media Types, No. 6 - Asano Atsuko
Genre: Canon Era, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Kisses, M/M, Quotes from real books and people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 05:30:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18218852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShiNatoka_Nah/pseuds/ShiNatoka_Nah
Summary: About kisses and the lives it changed.





	A Kiss for the Life You Changed

**Author's Note:**

> (Cross-posted from Secret Santa Event in Tumblr, for hachiko-101. I read the whole Light Novels to write this, then I got sick. So, I wrote this while dying... and I love it. Hope you will, too.)

**A Kiss for the Life You Changed**

* * *

 

_“Then, he kissed her. At his lips’ touch, she blossomed for him like a flower … and the incarnation was complete.”_

The final word trails off Shion’s lips, slow and quiet. He sighs, setting down The Great Gatsby onto his lap to turn towards his attentive audience, the three dear mice.

Hamlet cheeps in question, probably asking why he stopped in the middle of the story. Shion strokes him fondly, allowing him to scampers up his hand, scuttering up his shoulder to stare directly into his eyes.

“Sorry, Hamlet,” Shion apologizes, to Cravat and Tsukiyo, too. “I was just wondering why people put so much worth onto kisses. They made it sounds like a kiss can change someone’s entire life. I don’t think it works like that.”

There is a small scoff from the other side of the room. Nezumi rolls on the bed, turning around to face him. “Isn’t that only because you’re terrible at kissing? Wait until you are kissed by someone who knows how. Then, you’ll change your mind.”

“Nezumi!” Shion’s a bit startled. “I thought you fell asleep.”

“Almost did. Your droning recital was a good lullaby. A pity you stopped.”

“Sorry,” Shion apologizes again. He picks the book back up and flips through the pages to find the place where he left off. “I can continue if you’d like.”

“Don’t bother,” Nezumi waves his hand in refusal, flopping onto his back again with a soft thwump. His eyes are languid as they trace the stains and shadows on the ceiling. “It’s past midnight. You have work at Inukashi’s later, don’t you? Go to sleep.”

Although Hamlet protests next to his ear, Shion nods and hums in agreement. He sets the book down on the table for another day and walks to the fairly small mattress. Nezumi already closed his eyes, but Shion has no qualm about nudging him awake again. “Move over, Nezumi. I can’t get in if you hog the bed.”

Nezumi grumbles something about bothersome freeloader under his breath, but he shuffles away, creating just enough room so Shion can slip beneath the blanket.

The spot where Nezumi lied on moments ago is still warm against his back.

This time, it’s Shion’s turn to gaze at the ceiling and count the cracks running across the surface. The fire from their lantern illuminates the room in soft, orange glow. The dim light dances back and forth as the flame flickers inside the glass. They form a kaleidoscope of colors, painted freeform on the rundown canvas.

Even this simple sight, Shion thinks, is beautiful.

“I can hear you thinking. It’s annoying,” Nezumi mumbles next to him. Traces of his breathing discreetly caresses Shion’s ear. “Why are you spacing out, now?”

“I’m just thinking over what you said earlier,” Shion answers lightly. It’s not a lie, because he finally starts thinking about it now. He had kissed other people before, like the woman in the alley, or when he kissed Nezumi for the first and nearly the last time. They don’t leave much positive impression on him. One only brought surprise and the other hurt his heart. “Do you really think so? That a kiss can be life changing.”

“Of course not,” Nezumi sniffs in disdain, revealing his true opinion. “What kind of life do you have to lead, to be changed so easily by a simple kiss? As a wise woman once said, ‘ _A kiss is but a lovely trick, designed by nature, to stop speech when words become superfluous_.’”

Shion hasn’t heard that one before. Maybe it’s inside a book he hasn’t got a chance to read, yet. “So, you mean it’s good to shut people up,” he concludes from Nezumi’s fancy exposition.

The bed creaks and quakes when Nezumi moves, gone from Shion’s side to appear on top of him–-smirking lips and glinting eyes held a distance away by the hands that caged him in between. “And? How is it, Shion? Should I shut you up?”

Shion doesn’t show any reaction on the outside, but inside, his stomach flips without permission, and his heart skips a beat. If it’s anyone else, he probably… no, he  _definitely_  wouldn’t react like that. His breath catches only because it’s Nezumi who did it-–Nezumi, who looks so ethereal under the swaying lamplight, cloaked by flitting shadow that tints his gaze darker than normal.

Shion swallows his nerve. He says, with a voice that doesn’t dare to be louder than a whisper, “Go ahead.”

Nezumi eyes widen, arms stiffen as he freezes. He seems surprise at the answer. Shion doesn’t know why he would. Shion never shied away from his feeling, always willing to admit them for everyone to hear. In the face of such an offer, how else would he possibly respond?

As if reading the thought from inside his mind, Nezumi’s expression levels out, back to the calm before the storm. He stares straight into Shion’s eyes and speaks just as low, “It might change your life. There is no take back, Shion.”

Shion stares back at him, unflinching. “Go ahead,” he repeats, challenge and acceptance running strong underneath his words.

Nezumi’s eyes flash. Shion doesn’t have time to decipher it, because Nezumi leans down and silence his thought.

Shion gathers after a short while that it’s soft–-the kiss, Nezumi’s lips, the hand that drifts to tangle in his hair. It’s simply too soft, almost like Nezumi fears that Shion might breaks if he pushes to hard.

_How unlike you, Nezumi_ , Shion thinks inside his mind.  _You know I’m not that fragile._

He shifts and presses closer to deepen the kiss, catching Nezumi’s lips between his teeth like a taunt. The gesture is enough to erase any hesitancy between them. Nezumi tugs his hair and Shion takes that as his cue to part his lips.

His hands are clutching Nezumi’s shirt. His heart is pounding and his head grows dizzy by the second, like the world is spinning and he is floating up, drifting further and further away from the real world.

“Geez, Shion.  _Breathe_.”

Shion doesn’t even realize that he wasn’t breathing until Nezumi pulls away, his warm presence replaced by cold air that seeps in from outside. Ah, oxygen deprivation. So that’s why he felt light headed.

Nezumi shakes his head, exasperation coating each word that leaves him, “Hopeless as always. You’re even worse than I expected.”

“Nezumi!” Shion tightens his grips on the shirt he clutches, a little frantic at the thought that Nezumi might withdraw completely. “Kiss me again!”

“Shion–”

“Kiss me again, Nezumi,” Shion cuts him off, repeating his plea. His throat is dry and there is a deep ache inside his chest. Something in him might break if this is where they end. “Please?”

He can’t tell what Nezumi is thinking. All he can perceive is the tension of a wait, then the overwhelming relief that follows when Nezumi relents.

“Fine. But don’t forget to breathe this time. If you faint, I’ll dump you outside.”

Shion doesn’t bother to answer. He welcomes their second kiss, easing into it faster than the previous. This time, he feels Nezumi’s tongue tracing his lips, slipping between his teeth and meets his own–-the sensation foreign, yet not in a bad way.

It’s hard to keep on breathing, but Shion persists, catching puffs of air that tastes bittersweet in between gasps. That’s how Nezumi tastes, sweet like the strawberry given to Eve, and astringent like the tea they drank together for dinner.

Shion’s half lidded eyes fall close completely as he surrenders into the kiss. His mind hums in contentment as he melts into the mattress, sinking into the tough surface like it’s made out of downy feather.

The world gently sways.

Oh. He starts to get light headed again.

Shion doesn’t know when it happened, but Nezumi has covered him completely. Their legs are tangled in the blanket and they can discern each other’s heartbeat, softly thumping through their skin. They are close enough that Shion no longer feels cold when Nezumi finally breaks the kiss and pulls away.

Shion takes a deep breath, twice… then once more to bring himself back to the present. He says the only thing he can come up with right then, “Thank you.”

Somehow,  _that_  makes Nezumi laughs. His shoulders shake as he chuckles with mirth. He stops bracing himself and lets his full weight drops on top of Shion. Now, they’re really sinking.

“Once an idiot, always an idiot. Still such a natural…” Nezumi murmurs to himself, but the low volume is loud since it’s spoken directly into Shion’s ear.

Shion doesn’t see why Nezumi laughed or called him an idiot, but this moment reminds him of that night–-years ago in the past, a memory so vivid as if it only happened yesterday.

_Living people are warm_ , Nezumi said back then. He is right. Shion feels so warm like this, cradled inside Nezumi’s embrace and returning the same gesture with his own arms. He doesn’t mind to be a natural idiot if it’s always so comfortable.

There is something to settle, though, before he is lulled into sleep by the warmth. “Nezumi, that kiss was really nice–”

Nezumi smirks, the smug smile tickles his cheek, “Of course–”

“–But,” Shion cuts him off. He’s not finished. What he has to say is that, “Nice as it was, it didn’t change my life.”

_It couldn’t, because you already did that the moment I saw you, Nezumi._

Shion doesn’t know whether Nezumi heard the unspoken words or not, but the amusement fades and Nezumi lifts himself off, rolling away to topple onto the narrow space where he rested before.

“Still not good enough for your majesty, huh? Where should I find practice so I can match your high standards?” Nezumi quips, back to his mocking retorts.

Shion ignores that. There is something he is desperate to know. What he needs to hear is more important than escalating their argument. “Tell me, Nezumi. Do you hate kissing me? I must’ve been pretty bad at it. I remember that you got really angry, too, back then, when I kissed you goodbye.”

The basement room which has become Shion’s home for the past few months is silent as the memories of that night resurface. Their even breathing are the only thing that can be heard. Shion doesn’t try to draw any conclusion from that silence. There is no point in guessing. He doesn’t mind waiting for the verbal answer. They’re not going anywhere anytime soon.

“Shion,” Nezumi finally speaks up after a few minutes have passed. His calloused hand touches Shion’s cheek and tilts his gaze away from shadow on the ceiling. “Look at me.”

Shion looks at him, looks into the eyes that always haunted him since he first saw them.

“Listen well, okay, because I won’t repeat it twice,” Nezumi enunciates, slow and clear. “ _I didn’t want to kiss you goodbye – that was the trouble – I wanted to kiss you goodnight – and there’s a lot of difference_.”

Shion soaks the words so they will reside deep within him. He wants to sigh, for the bliss that blooms inside his heart. Yet, he stares on, because from the hint of flourish in Nezumi’s admission, he can tell, “You’re quoting someone again.”

“Yes,” Nezumi’s smile is small and quick, genuine. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Still, good job discerning it, Shion. For that, here’s a kiss goodnight, from yours truly.”

Nezumi leans in and lays a soft kiss onto his forehead. Shion’s eyes flutter shut.

The gesture is sweet and innocent, yet he trembles before it, anyway.

“Now, go to sleep, Shion,” Nezumi says, pulling away after a small eternity went by too fast.

It’s not enough. Shion doesn’t want to let go so soon, but it’s late in the night, and there will be a chance for next time in the future.

Knowing that, he is satisfied.

So, he whispers back with a smile, “Goodnight, Nezumi.”


End file.
